Half a season is no fluke

6-2 Bengals capable of beating opponents any way they like

Nov. 7, 2011

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The poise of rookie quarterback Andy Dalton is one reason the Bengals keep winning. / The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

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NASHVILLE – Halfway to the end, and the beginning is becoming clear: The first eight games were no fluke. How can half a season be a mirage? Even if you believe the Schedule Fairy has lived at Paul Brown Stadium, you cannot dismiss the Bengals as lightweights anymore.

The weeks have passed, the wins keep happening. By now, they're starting to look pleasantly familiar and resolutely undeniable. The time to wonder Why? Is gone. We're into the Why Not? portion of the program. That's especially compelling now, given the heathen Steelers are in town on Sunday.

I made a simple and dumb request of players Sunday, partly because as a media hack, I'm really good at simple and dumb. After the Bengals won their fifth in a row, a rock-solid 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, I wondered:

"Why do you keep winning?"

It's not as easy as you might expect. Explaining intangibles never is. Football is a game of brute want. It is physical and it hurts, even when it's good. Who's willing to hurt more? To whom does it matter most?

That might explain how the Titans rolled to 233 yards and 17 points in the first half, then managed 95 yards and zero points in the second half. Peko offered some technical wisdom as well, something about how the defense concentrated on keeping Tennessee from "getting to the perimeter." That's true enough; Chris Johnson had 55 yards in the first half, most gained while bouncing outside. He had nine yards in the second, most gained with his elbows and knees at the bottom of a pile.

But it's not that. Not entirely.

Maybe it's about the derriere.

Peko: "We've just been playing our a---- off."

Safety Chris Crocker: "We just play our a---- off."

Other tangible reasons could be that the Bengals look to be in better shape than the teams they've played. On defense, they rotate so many situational players, nobody is picking up his tongue off the turf late in games. The Bengals have outscored the other guys 87-43 in the fourth quarter. As Peko put it, "We're still fresh and flying around." That was obvious Sunday. The Bengals were down 17-7 at half, then ground Tennessee into a fine, Titan-blue powder.

And of course, there is this, and it's time to acknowledge it:

"We're better than the teams we beat, OK? We are good," said Crocker. "Come on, now. At this point, what else can you say? We've got talent. Young and old. We're very smart. We don't get penalties, we understand situations and what (opponents) are going to do."

On offense, the Bengals are predictable, yet not easy to defend. You pretty much know first down is Ced Benson, running behind the Triple-X left tackle Andrew Whitworth. On third and four or five, you're going to get a dose of Brian Leonard or a slant pass to someone. Jay Gruden isn't conducting the philharmonic here. More like a high school glee club.

But nobody's stopping it with any regularity.

Part of it is Benson, who just churns until he gets where he wants to go. Part of it is Red Dalton, King Cool, who doesn't make dumb throws and Sunday was absolutely laser-sharp when he needed to be. You'll take three TD passes, no interceptions and a QB Rating of 97.9, won't you?

Some is Adriel Jeremiah Green, hereafter known as A.J. Who Catches Everything. Just throw it to the same state, and he's on it. On Sunday, I think Green even caught a ball in Arkansas. The Bengals longest play was the 45-yard pass interference call Green drew on Tennessee's Jason McCourty.

The Bengals scored 17 unanswered in the second half. Seven came on a 13-play, 75-yard drive (95, if you count the two holding penalties). Seven came on a three-play, 65-yard sprint. In other words, as basic as they seem, the Bengals can beat you any way they like.

That's' why they're winning. Partly.

They beat a competent team Sunday. They beat if not a great quarterback, at least a quarterback not named McCoy, Orton, Gabbert, Painter or the legendary two-headed thrower in Seattle, Charvaris Jackhurst. Matt Hasselbeck had his moments.

It's as if all the bad stuff in the last 20 years has been gathered up and dumped on its evil little head. Turn that frown upside down, kids.

For the moment, it's all good. And now that it's Steelers Week!, the moment is all that matters.